What Are The Cheapest & Most Expensive Times to Fly?

Many budget conscious travellers rely on savvy airfare shopping to save on the cost of a holiday. While some like to hedge their bets and nab a discounted airfare with a last minute seat filler, others prefer to book far in advance rather than risk price hikes due to limited availability. Of course, the seasonality of flight prices also makes it difficult to find the best dates for your holiday.

Regardless of how early you book, there are some dates that will simply cost more to fly. Whether prices are affected by the peak tourist season, the Australian school holiday calendar or popular holiday periods such as Christmas, if you want to save money on flights there are some key dates to avoid.

TravelOnline has analysed the data of flight sales for a number of major airlines to calculate which dates are the cheapest and which dates will cost you more in 2018. Giving you a general guide to the cheapest and most expensive flight dates for some of the most popular holiday destinations for Australian travellers, the data also gives you an idea of what you can expect to pay when departing from the east coast of Australia.

“Although this is a general guide to travel times the trend is fairly consistent across the majority of popular airlines,” says Glenn Checkley, Managing Director at TravelOnline.

“Typically airlines increase prices as the travel date approaches, so my advice is to book as far in advance as possible and be flexible with your dates to secure the best deal.

“Even in peak travel periods, planning ahead is more often than not, the best way of securing the cheapest prices” he said.

Bali

Cheapest: $323 returnMonday 20/08/2018 – Mon 27/08/2018

Most Expensive: $1351 returnSunday 06/05/2018 – Sun 13/05/2018

Phuket

Cheapest: $661 returnSunday 26/08/2017 – Sunday 02/09/2018

Most Expensive: $1,206 returnSunday 23/12/2018 – Sunday 30/12/2018

Hawaii

Cheapest: $659 returnSaturday 19/05/2018 – Saturday 26/05/2018

Most Expensive: $1,776 returnSunday 23/09/2018 – Sunday 30/09/2018

Fiji

Cheapest: $526 returnSunday 04/11/2018 – Sunday 11/11/2018

Most Expensive: $1,226 returnSunday 01/07/2018 – Sunday 08/07/2018

Vanuatu

Cheapest: $547 returnWednesday 08/08/2018 – Wednesday 15/08/2018

Most Expensive: $1147 returnSunday 01/07/2018 – Sunday 08/07/2018

The book now, pay later concept is one that works particularly well for getting the best package deal prices. Travellers can secure early bird flight pricing and with just a small additional deposit, can layby their hotel, tours and airport transfers at the same time. Although flights must be paid in full at the time of booking, customers can continue to pay off the remainder of their holiday in smaller, more affordable instalments throughout the year until they are ready to travel.

Thanks to a new partnership with HSBC, TravelOnline customers can book and pay for their holiday in full by applying for a HSBC 12 Months Interest Free credit card. Receiving a response in just 60 seconds, approved card holders can enjoy the peace of mind of securing their desired holiday package with no deposit required and a 12 month interest free period to allow them to pay off the balance, says Mr Checkley.